geeks

"Bringing a date to a wedding is like taking a deer carcass on a hunting trip." Des Moines from Shane left us one of the best voice mails we've listened to in a while, so thanks for the advice, dude! On today's episode of The 404 Podcast, we're looking at some of the most inappropriate Halloween costumes of all time. Plus, a preview of the upcoming Sonic 4, and a list of catchphrases every 404 fan should use at least once a day!

Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most recognizable titles of all time, right up there with Mario and Tetris. Even an anti-gaming Luddite like myself can appreciate its simple objective: to run as fast as possible while decimating anything that gets in your way. Also, coins.

The next evolution, Sonic 4, is a throwback to the original games but this time with HD gameplay, so look for it in stores for the Nintendo Wii, Sony PS3, and the Xbox 360, and it'll be featured on a future episode of CNET's PreGame as well!

The next story in the daily rundown is a public Twitter booth spotted in Russia, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow because we'd rather talk about the most inappropriate Halloween costumes of all time. Watch Wilson's head explode and follow along as we show off a couple controversial costumes, including the sexy Finding Nemo, the Suicide Bomber children's outfit, the "Shocker," and one other play on word costume that brings Wilson to tears- don't miss this segment!

We spent the first half of yesterday's show talking about the disturbing world of Renaissance faires, and I told a story about a young fan of The 404 who spotted me in attendance but couldn't stay long to talk with his mother in tow.

Well, he actually called us up with a voice mail that illustrates exactly how bad my sense of observation is--sorry dude! Come to our Meetup at The Frying Pan this Thursday, October 7, and I'll buy you a drink! If you're not a member of our Meetup Group, sign up for more details and RSVP if you can make it!

Here are the meetup details.

I was stoked to answer my door yesterday to see a package from ThinkGeek. Last week, I wrote about the awesome U.S.S. Enterprise Star Trek pizza cutter it's selling and strongly hinted that I wanted one. Someone very nice listened. I'm going to make pizza tonight.

I eagerly opened the box and was struck by the minimalist, almost Apple-esque design of the packaging.

Behold the very simple foam on the top: It's a rectangle, and that is all. But what is beneath?

It's a tease. A peek at the Enterprise's nacelles, the domain of Scotty. To the front, over the saucer, is a saucer itself of more foam. A perfect, simple circle. No extra papers, no coupons, no extras.

… Read more

"Bones," Kirk said quietly. "This odd-looking Klingon dish is--too large--for one man to eat. They call it Pi'Zza. We must consume it to prove our honor to the Klingon high council. But how?"

"Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a chef."

"Captain," Spock interjected. "Perhaps the toy model of the Enterprise that you cut your hand on last week might be of use. Its blade is sharp enough to cut this--what is it?--food?"

"That's it, Spock! Scotty, bring my toy chest," Kirk said into … Read more

We've featured our share of geeky marriage proposals (and even weddings) on Crave over the last couple of years, but they generally revolve around the unique, geeky ways the asker asks the askee the big question. Not much attention has been paid to the physical element of most proposals: the ring itself.

Thankfully, we've found this Ivy Carat multimedia ring box. It's the size and shape of your normal ring case, but it has 128MB of storage, a 2-inch full-color LCD screen, and a small speaker. When opened, the box displays a short video or photo on … Read more

I'm not a T-shirt kinda guy; I feel like if I'm not wearing things with buttons, at least around the neck, then I'm in my underwear. If I did wear T-shirts, though, they'd have to be handy, like this T-shirt from ThinkGeek that opens beers for you.

The BeerBot Bottle Opening Shirt features an image of a robot inspired by Bender from the Futurama. The beerbot on the shirt has two claws, one of which is metal and is used to pop the tops off beer bottles so you don't have to use, you know, … Read more

The recent popularity of GPS functionality built into smartphones and stock vehicles might eventually phase out third party portable navigation devices entirely, but folks who currently own Tom Tom systems can now hear their driving directions read by classic Star Wars characters like Yoda and Darth Vader. Tom Tom will release one Star Wars character a month, available as a $13 download- check out this hilarious promo for the Yoda version.

July 13 is the official Embrace Your Inner Geek Day so we're celebrating this annual holiday by doing...the same thing...we normally...do. And just for kicks, … Read more

NEWPORT NEWS, Va.--I've just begun Road Trip 2010, my annual journey in search of the best geek-centric spots this country has to offer, and I've got a hole in my schedule. Can you help?

Starting Sunday, I'm going to be in Washington, D.C. I'm booked up through Monday, but on Tuesday, I'd like to give the nation's capital one more day of my reporting time--and I'd love to get your help in deciding where to go.

I'm looking for spots that are very geek-friendly and that photograph well. I'm … Read more

I'm about to start Road Trip 2010, my fifth annual journey through a region of the United States in search of some of the most interesting places to write about and photograph.

As in previous years, the trip will focus heavily on what interests me--and hopefully my readers--as a self-professed geek. After all, this blog is called Geek Gestalt. And that will take me to high-tech research labs, military bases, a motorcycle factory, NASA facilities, and much more.

Being a traveling geek reminded me of the great book "The Geek Atlas" by British author John Graham-Cumming. That … Read more

Sometimes lawyers don't always spend their time in the most productive ways. Indeed, one wonders whether the lawyers at the firm of Faegre and Benson spent their time productively in reportedly sending out a 12-page cease and desist letter to the japesters at ThinkGeek.com.

I have no nag in this spat, as I can no more understand geeks than I can understand lawyers. Yet ThinkGeek.com is adamant that this cease and desist is heartily genuine and deeply critical of its attempt to sell unicorn meat. Specifically, canned unicorn meat.

Should you be frustrated at missing the opportunity … Read more